


The Sepulchre

by ifwegettherebysunset



Series: Midnight Dreary [1]
Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! GX
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angst, Grief/Mourning, Judai and Haou are the same person but they got different tags so, Other, Reincarnation, Soulmates, but it's not THAT important to the story tbh
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-06
Updated: 2019-11-06
Packaged: 2021-01-23 01:09:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 881
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21311626
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ifwegettherebysunset/pseuds/ifwegettherebysunset
Summary: Johan Andersen guarded the cemetery on the hill. But when the new moon rose and the night was at its darkest, he couldn't resist going to the clifftop, where the mausoleum breathed.[Inspired by "Annabel Lee" by Edgar Allan Poe]
Relationships: Yubel/Yuuki Juudai | Jaden Yuki
Series: Midnight Dreary [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1537918
Kudos: 18





	The Sepulchre

**Author's Note:**

> [Here is a lovely reading of this poem.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Q-q02CKo9c) When it comes to older poetry, I feel listening to it is best.
> 
> also hello i'm not dead. Well, physically l o l  
i have eleven diagrams to draw by tomorrow and was assigned them yesterday l o l  
anyway

_But our love it was stronger by far than the love_  
_ Of those who were older than we—_  
_ Of many far wiser than we—_  
_ And neither the angels in Heaven above_  
_ Nor the demons down under the sea_  
_ Can ever dissever my soul from the soul_  
_ Of the beautiful Annabel Lee..._

—Edgar Allan Poe, ["Annabel Lee"](https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/44885/annabel-lee)

* * *

Kuraguri's new moons always brought clouds, rendering the night darker and the shadows more solid. The Royal Cemetery, laid like a necropolis on the clifftop, seemed alive as the violent sea crashed on the rocks below. But Johan's ears only picked up one sound as he picked his way carefully along the well-trodded path to the center, where the tomb of the young king resided.

It was made of black marble, with four pointed spires on which clung weeping figures woven from the ground up. Those who knew the history of the king recognized them as his knights, the heroes of the land. The artist who carved them took the greatest care in the tiniest details, from the golden circle of the Shining to the jewel on Neos' forehead. Some had no mouths, but their agony was apparent in their postures, bent and clutching at each other for support. The doors, set deep in a pointed arch and covered in engraved iron, bore text along its top, the usual _Here Lies_ for any grave. The inscription was supposed to symbolize how close the king was to his people, that he would have a humble eulogy. But of course he was still a king, so the grandeur offset the gesture.

Johan, of course, had not known the king in this life. He retained mere hints of memories, as many of Kuraguri did of their previous lives. But when he looked upon the tomb, his heart ached as if he'd lost a dear friend. His family, beasts carved from precious jewels who helped his soul along when it left his bodies, showed him carvings from three hundred years ago, when the king was alive. They had, indeed, been close.

On the new moon, the doors were always ajar despite the gravekeeper's best efforts. And it was always just enough to see the faint light of the constantly lit braziers and the edge of the stone coffin in which the king had been buried. Johan dared not venture closer, but he didn't need to.

Talons scraped the coffin, leaving marks that would disappear with the sunrise. They, too, were made of stone, but moved fluidly. No matter how strong the defenses, they never seemed to be injured or cracked, and eventually the coffin's lid moved.

A skeleton in rusted armor lay within. Johan wondered what the creature saw. Perhaps the beautiful young man in the castle's gallery, with a smiling mouth and vibrant brown hair. Were the eyes open for them? Were they gold or brown?

Unfailingly, the creature always climbed in. Desperate moans and sighs billowed from them the longer they beheld the corpse. With every breath in between, Johan heard them whisper the king's true name.

"Judai...Judai..."

Sometimes it was an endearment—"my darling, my love"—all with the same despair.

Without a doubt it was Yubel.

The most basic history lessons knew Yubel. Haou's Guardian, closer to him than even Johan's previous incarnation had been. Many carvings and paintings depicted their bodies fused from the waist down to show their souls' conjoining when they were children. Yubel sacrificed their own body for him, and he gave them everything in return.

_They loved with a love that was more than love._

But not even that could save him. The Light of Destruction lost the war in a Pyrrhic victory. The lovers perished.

A statue of Yubel had been erected in the tomb, watching over the coffin. They could not leave their post.

And so, on every new moon, when the night was darkest, the spirit of Yubel made stone breathe.

Johan's memories only offered bare feelings in comparison to the anguish he felt watching Yubel's grief now. The Gem Beasts were hesitant in describing them; they were wary, despite Yubel's devotion to the king. Judai's consort was far more powerful than they looked, despite appearing fearsome in this form. They often said that Yubel's love did not extend beyond Judai—the kingdom, and its subjects, did not matter after the transformation. They only cared because Judai cared.

A foreboding thought. One that didn't cross Johan's mind on these lonely nights as Yubel cradled a rotten skull with the gentlest touch of claws.

The air was growing cold. Johan was needed back at his post.

He wished...

But it didn't matter what he wished. What solace could he offer? There was no earthly word or gesture that could comfort a severed soul. The notion always stayed him, kept him lurking outside the tomb like a voyeur. If Yubel turned their head, he would gain the courage to at least try.

They never did. And so, with a heavy sigh, Johan began the journey back to his family.

Unspeakable sorrow followed him.

* * *

_And so, all the night-tide, I lie down by the side_  
_Of my darling—my darling—my life and my bride,_  
_ In her sepulchre there by the sea—_  
_ In her tomb by the sounding sea._

**Author's Note:**

> all aboard the angst train amirite


End file.
